The Day The World Died
by Kyyteo
Summary: In the aftermath of the fight against Cubia, Haseo and his friends are adjusting back to normal life. Times of peace are bringing about changes to all, yet how long can the peace last of the Epitaph Users? A dark new threat looms over [The World] again, and it will take everything and more to stop it.
1. Chapter 1: Haseo

_**Just so you all know, this is a rewrite of my original "The Day [The World] Died." Coming back to it many years later, and re-reading it made me physically ill, and I couldn't let it go. Not now not ever. This version, I promise will be at least 50x more detailed, in depth, in character, and just better in overall. I'll keep my original Idea intact though, because I thought I could really go somewhere with it. Anyway… Welcome, to [The World]! Please enjoy what I have to offer!**_

 _ **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-September 16 2018-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

Haseo stood in front of the large gathering which had come to join his guild Canard. Having his own area made his guild much more appealing to the new, and longtime players. Net Slum Tartarga was a special area in many different ways and the guildmaster, who had a hard time admitting he had grown fond of managing the guild, made sure to make use of all its features for his guild members.

Ever since the guild Moon Tree nearly collapsed, many of their former members decided to make their way over to Canard. They viewed it as a less extreme version of Moon Tree, but keeping intact the original ideal of helping other players enjoy [The World] to its fullest. But a crowd that gathered today was really large, and Haseo couldn't really believe what was happening. Death Grunty stood at the guildmaster's side, wagging his tail quickly, and looking quite pleased with itself.

"I'm Grunty, You're Haseo! *oink* You've done well my servant! I can see just how hard you've been working for my guild! *oink* But don't think that I'm done with you just yet. *oink* I'm going to squeeze every last drop of effort from your body until you're just a shriveled up prune *oink*" Silabus, who was sitting at a table with Gaspard handling new member registrations, laughed to himself, thinking about how little the guild had actually changed despite gaining huge popularity.

Haseo noticed the Co-Guild Master's laugh and walked over in front of him, standing in front of the person he was processing with his arms crossed. "Do you wanna go punk?" He asked in a half smirk. Silabus felt a drop of sweat roll down the back of his head as he tried to wave Haseo off. "Now now, I didn't mean anything by it. I just was thinking that you've changed so much yet so little at the same time." He chuckled again as the adept rogue walked away, apologizing to the person he stepped in front of.

He never thought he would have to create so many different ranks in the guild, and in a way it was starting to look like how Moon Tree had their ranks set up. He himself oversaw all of the Captains and Lieutenants that each managed a portion of the members. Silabus, Gaspard, and Atoli of course were his first choice. But to his amazement, Matsu, and Alkaid both stepped up to help manage the guild.

He turned his head to the beast player he called his friend. Gaspard had really changed the most thanks to the guild, and his own hard work and efforts. He was able to stand in front of a crowd without completely shutting down, whilst keeping the happy attitude and infectious smile that Haseo had come to rely on during the days that were tougher for him.

He looked around and saw all the players interacting with each other. Matsu was spawning in monsters for the lower level players to fight against, and showing them the mechanics of the game. Shino was sitting with a bunch of other players just chatting away. Alkaid, who was there moments prior, had taken a large sum of players to attempt a raid boss. And Piros the 3rd, who wasn't even a member of Canard, was spinning his "hypothetical" stories and, oddly enough, inspiring those who listened to him.

But the one person he wanted to see the most, wasn't online at the moment. He opened his Member Address list and glanced at Atoli's name. She had been absent from [The World] recently, which worried Haseo and made him a little antsy and on edge. He turned around and shouted at his two friends. "Hey! I'm gonna head offline for a bit. I'll catch up with you guys later."

The Blade Brandier laughed awkwardly and said to Gaspard "He's just going to leave us with all these new members isn't he?" Gaspard smiled and said "Oh come on Silabus, it's not all that bad. We can do it!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Ryou Misaki, the player behind Haseo, removed his M2D, and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He rarely got much sleep anymore, devoting most of his time to [The World], while still maintaining a part time job, and keeping up his grades at the private school he went to. He stood up and walked to the kitchen of his apartment. He didn't know what sounded good to him, so he just threw some bread in the toaster and walked away for a moment, pulling out his phone and checking it.

He had hoped to see a text from her, but there was nothing. He had to admit, after what had happened between them at the Hulle Granz Cathedral… when he turned his back on Shino and chased after her… things were a little awkward. Neither of them knew what to do at that point, and neither of them really could talk about how they felt about each other. So they stayed as friends for the time being.

Everyone around the two knew though, and were getting frustrated that they weren't an official couple yet. Alkaid, who had feelings for Haseo still lingering in her heart, was the most adamant about him and Atoli. She sent him not so subtle messages constantly, reminding him that if he didn't treat her right that the twin blade would be there to unleash a world of hurt on him.

He opened up his messenger and decided to send Chigusa, the player behind Atoli, a text message.

'Hey. Haven't seen you in a bit. Get back to me when you can. Everyone's worried.'

He sighed softly and put his phone down on the table that was in his kitchen.

The apartment that he lived in was much too big for just one person, but it was the one that his father had bought for him after Ryou insisted on moving out. He couldn't really accept that his dad had remarried after divorcing his mom, and wanted out of a situation where he would potentially have to accept someone else in his life who he would have to call "Mother." Especially after what had happened to his biological mom. The apartment Had an almond colored scheme, that kind of brought a little warmth in the roomy place. His kitchen was tiled, and decked out with granite countertops. He rarely cooked, but when he did he was really good at it, there just wasn't much reason to do so unless he had company.

He grabbed his toast from the countertop and walked past the kitchen table he never sat at, into the living room which was connected to his kitchen. He had a fake plant by the door to his apartment which really was the only decorative thing in the place. The door lead into the living room where there was a blue couch pressed up against the wall, with a coffee table in front of that. Directly across from that was an entertainment center lined up with consoles of the past he liked to collect, and an oversized LCD screen that he only used when he watched the occasional movie.

He plopped down on the couch and started to munch on his toast. The teen turned his thoughts to his friend Ovan. He was a wanted criminal now, thanks to CC Corp using him as a scapegoat. He sighed and thought about how it wouldn't matter, because the real life Ovan was in a hospital somewhere, in a coma. For the first week after the defeat of Cubia, he did nothing but search the areas, hoping to find his friend somewhere, but with no luck.

Shino made him stop though. She told the teen that he had already lost so much time trying to bring her out of the coma that she was in, and if he tried to do the same for Ovan, it would consume him again. He knew that wasn't entirely false, but he still wanted to do everything he could for his friend.

His eyes started to flutter close, letting exhaustion take him. The young teen finally was able to drift to sleep. Not too long after that, his phone vibrated and his screen showed he had a text message from Chigusa.

 _ **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

 _ **Okay so, let's see what I can do from here. I'm excited to rewrite this, and I hope that anyone who reads this will like it. If you enjoyed it, or notice something I could improve on, please don't hesitate to leave a review! Thanks a lot all.**_

 _ **-Kyyteo**_


	2. Chapter 2: Atoli

**Okay. Now that I've got a basis set up, I hope you guys are ready for some lengthy chapters. :) I'll try to give you as much as I can. And I am surprisingly having a lot more fun writing this than I originally thought I would.**

Ryou awoke from his nap with a startled gasp, not even 30 minutes after he had finally gotten to sleep. A nightmare had awoken him. The same one. Every time. He sat up on the couch and put his face in his hands.

He had dreamt that AIDA had begun to infect everyone he had made friends with over the years he had been in [The World]. He could only watch helplessly in his dream as all his friends around him fell. He was powerless to stop them, and he was scared of the prospect of being alone. He brought his hand to his face and let out a shuddered breath.

The dream had absolutely no merit, as AIDA had been wiped from the network, but he still felt like if he went anywhere, something bad would happen to the ones he held closest to him. The ones who were able to soften his cold heart.

He stood up from his couch and glanced at his phone. His eyes widened suddenly and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the name on the text. He quickly unlocked his phone and scrambled to get the message open.

 _I'm sorry that I haven't been on too much recently. There have been some things going on… I want… no, I need to see you Ryou. I can't keep this bottled in anymore. Please Ryou… come to the Hulle Granz Cathedral._

The teen's heart sunk in his chest. He had a looming feeling that something terrible happened in her life, and he felt the urge to rush to her side and take care of her in any way he possibly could. He rushed back into his bedroom, which really only had a twin bed, a dresser, his desk that housed his ALTIMIT OS computer. He had blackout curtains over his windows so his room was dark all the time, and on a side note, it also kept his room warmer.

He might as well have jumped into his office chair, as he slid his M2D over his head started [The World] using his controller. After a brief loading screen, he saw the city of Lumina Cloth, where some players stopped and stared at him.

He had become a celebrity of [The World] and had more people obsessed with him than Endrance did in his prime. The shrill voice of "IT'S HASEO!" followed by the sound of many clambering steps spelt his doom.

Hands started to reach towards him as, he instinctively jumped backwards. "Damn it! I think I prefer when they ran away from me when I was a PKK." They continued to come towards him all of them asking silly questions like "How did you get that form?" "Are you going to fight in the arena again to go for emperor?" "What is your relationship to Alkaid?" "What is your relationship to Atoli?" "Can I join your guild?" He pushed his way through all the grabby hands, (a few of them decided to get a butt grab in.) Haseo decided he really didn't have time for this, so he accessed the Chaos Gate, and warped to the **Δ** server, Mac Anu, leaving many fans in a disappointment. Saw the Eternal City and didn't waste a moment in pulling his bookmark page up, and selecting **Δ** Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, before anyone else could disrupt him. 

The Hulle Granz Cathedral fluttered into the Adept Rogue's view, and he let out an enthusiastic grin as he started down the bridge towards the cathedral itself. He couldn't hide his anticipation as his pace quickened, almost flying up the stairs, and throwing open the main doors.

And there she stood, with her back towards him staring at the empty Plinth that once held the statue of Aura. She turned towards him and smiled gently at his presence. The same smile that never failed to leave him stunned and slightly out of breath. He quickly composed himself and walked towards her. "Atoli." He started in his normal tone of voice, stopping when he was standing next to her. 

"I was starting to think…" she said holding her hand against her heart, letting her relief show. "That you weren't going to come. I thought I made you angry or something." The dual gunner scratched the back of his head and said "Look… I'm sorry about that, I kind of fell asleep and such…"

She shook her head quickly and threw up her hands in front of her. "Oh no! You don't have to apologize at all!" She then brought her hands behind her and twined her fingers together. "Though… I have to say Haseo, You really know how to keep a girl waiting don't you!"

Haseo cringed and sighed softly. She had him pinned under her thumb and he knew it. Not that he was really complaining. He leaned his elbow against the bars and held his chin with his hand. "So… what's wrong?" He glanced over at her with a worried expression. "You sounded kind of serious in your email."

Her face let off a sharp pang of sadness and her head dipped softly. Haseo quickly stood straight and walked over to her, now even more concerned than he was. "Atoli. You need to tell me what's happening." After a moment of silence she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

Something inside of the young man just snapped when he saw her crying, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, wanting nothing more than to protect her eliminate the source of her tears.

She didn't pull back, although it initially came as a surprise to her, instead she started sobbing. It wasn't the first time he saw her like this. He saw all of her bottled feelings and memories when they saved her from AIDA. But back then it didn't hurt nearly as much as it did right now.

He didn't know what to say. Haseo honestly didn't know how he could help this girl in front of him. All he could do was hold her tighter and gently stroke her back as her tears made the white outfit he was wearing damp.

 **0-00-000-000-0000-0**

Kitchi Teshima, was nervously twiddling his thumbs. He was waiting for an interview for a major technology company. Misaki Industries was the leading company when it came to development and improvements on the Micro Monocle Display units that were getting ever more popular with online games. He brushed his hand through his shaggy almond hair that really hadn't changed that much in the past 7 years.

The 3rd Network Crisis left many people extremely tense, Kitchi included. Although he was for a completely different reason.

It was so long since he was known as Kite, and ever since [The World R:1] had shut down, he hadn't picked up the game since. He knew while it was happening, exactly what the cause for the crisis was. The answer, as always, rested in [The World.]

He sighed sadly remembering how useless he had felt, and even contemplated sending an email to Aura asking what he could do to help. His new girlfriend, Akira, had told him that there was a point in time where the two of them wouldn't hesitate to take on dangers together, and she understood that he was scared to get back into that fight.

Kitchi just felt that the time of Kite and BlackRose were over though. That wasn't to say that he didn't keep tabs on [The World]. He knew everything that happened. Wiseman, (or as he was now known as Yata, or Nala, Kitchi couldn't really keep track anymore, and wondered how that man had so much time on his hands) occasionally emailed him about the events.

He knew about AIDA, and the Epitaphs, and the reappearance of Cubia, and the player called Haseo who kept them all together. But, the young man couldn't feel anything but unease. He felt like even after Cubia had been defeated, that it was just the calm before the storm.

The 21 year old tapped his foot at a quick pace and wondered if it was time to pick up [The World] one more time, just to put everything to rest. The young man leaned back on the bench and tried to calm his nerves, especially before an important interview.

The office was, for lack of a better description, was a gamer's luxury. The color scheme left a feeling of ease with its blue and yellow designs painted on the wall in no particular pattern. The crisp blue business suit Kitchi was wearing felt really out of place in such an environment, and it honestly it made him look like Phoenix Wright. (He had to fight off the urge to scream Objection! At the mirror when getting ready in the morning)

The office had a bunch of other really cool items lying around in cases, such as the first Head Mounted Display prototype, and even an antique ALTIMIT OS computer. There were also portraits of popular games that used the M2Ds as a display unit, including [The World].

Directly in front of him was the personal secretary of the company's CEO. She was busy at work typing away, trying to sort out her bosses schedule. Although not busy enough where she couldn't check out the cute boy who walked in for the interview. But she had to remind herself that newbies were friends, not food.

He looked down at the laptop bag that he brought everywhere with him and decided to check his email if he had some extra time. Getting his customized M2D out of the bag and sliding it on his face, Kitchi loaded his ALTIMIT OS desktop, and navigated to the email icon.

Yasuhiko had emailed him (again) bragging about the new gig he got down in the Shibuya district, selling tickets for soccer games. He apparently raked in a lot of money by doing this.

Akira emailed him a good luck letter, telling him to keep focused at the interview, and not to let things distract him too much, and that she would see him whenever he got back to the apartment that they had rented together.

But the last email he saw… made his heart stop for a few moments.

He stared into the display for a few moments before hurriedly opening the email from Aura.

" **Kite… I hope this email finds you well.**

 **I wish I could come to you on less dire circumstances, however, the slumber I have put myself in the sea of data has shown me a glimpse of what is coming. The Children of Morganna will not be able to handle this themselves, and even with you they still may not have a chance. The Twilight of the 3rd Network Crisis has yet to reach the land. You will need allies, new and old, to be able to stand a chance of defeating it. Otherwise your world, as well as mine, may become lost forever.**

The email was chilling and he found himself short of breath. The feeling he had in his gut had been realized, and now he was getting dragged back into the fight. With shaky hands he removed his M2D to see reality once again. There was a man now standing in front of him casually dressed, with a smile on his face. He looked Kitchi in the eye and said with a hearty laugh,

"Nothing makes me happier to see young people using my company's technology! Especially those who are potential employees!" He stuck his hand out and said "Hello, I'm the founder, CEO and President of Misaki Industries. You can just call me Mr. Misaki!"

 **This took so much longer to write than I thought it was going to. So many revisions, but it was worth it. Kite's coming back, and so are a lot of familiar faces! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and gave me feedback on the first chapter, and I hope I get more feedback from this chapter to further develop myself as a writer! Thank you for everything you guys do.**


	3. Chapter 3: Ryou

**Before I begin this I'd like to say that I'm sorry about how long it's taken to write this chapter. My editor passed away while I was writing this chapter and it's been hard for me to get around to finishing it. But it's here.**

 **I'm gonna treat ya'll to something special. That's for sure. Also, thank you all for reading and reviewing my chapters!**

 **0-00-000-00-000-**

5 minutes felt like an eternity for Haseo. 5 minutes of hearing her sobs of helplessness, and knowing that there wasn't much he could do to comfort her pain agonized him. Waves of emotion, like anger at whoever caused this beautiful girl to shed tears, worry about what could be happening in her life that would make her like this, and even guilt, coursed through his being. But finally after that long eternity, her sobs slowly died down. He took a step back and gazed into her emerald eyes.

"Atoli…" he said sadly. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at him with an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm sorry... I didn't…"

He grit his teeth slightly before cutting her off mid-sentence. "You idiot… you don't have to apologize for anything." He hated that after all the confidence she had gained, whatever she was going through was enough to make her start apologizing for everything when she didn't need to. He gave her a soft smile and wiped away a stray tear that had slid all the way down her cheek with the back of his finger. "Let's sit down… then you can tell me all about it."

Without waiting for her reaction, he took her hand in his and led her to one of the pews in the cathedral, before sitting her down and him next to her. He released his grip on her hand but still kept his own on top of it, then glanced over at the harvest cleric. "Please… let me know what's going on so I can do something about it okay?"

Taking a second to compose herself, she looked down into her lap but spoke loud enough for him to hear. "I… really did it this time Haseo." her hand that was on her lap clenched into a small fist while the hand that was trapped under the adept rogue's. He didn't say anything, instead just waited for her to elaborate.

"It all started this Friday. I went out after school to shop, there was an outfit I thought was adorable. So I went and bought it." She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before continuing. "And when I got home, and tried it on… my mom came into the room. She was…" He could feel her hand trembling underneath his own, so trying to soothe her, he brushed his thumb over the top of her hand.

She initially was surprised by the gesture, but it made her feel a little bit better to know he was here with her, listening to her, and most importantly to her, seeing her. She continued her story after a moment of hesitation. "My mom was less than pleased with the way I was dressed… she said no daughter of hers was going to be dressing like a prostitute…" He cut in for a moment to ask, "The outfit, what was it?" She tilted her head to the side wondering why he was asking. "It was a skirt, with a belt kind of draped over the hip with a shirt that said 'I am thou, thou art I' and a picture of something that looked like a tarot card in the middle. It also came with a black and white checkered jacket." He shook his head and said "Okay so absolutely nothing about makes you look like a prostitute but continue anyway."

She smiled, glad the he understood, then continued. "She… said that she was tired of me constantly bringing disgrace unto her, and…" Her eyes started to tear up again as she struggled to choke the next few words out. "She told me… that I was no longer welcome under her roof, and… I had until next week to leave. And I…" The stream of tears started to roll down her cheeks, "And I don't know… what to do!" Her sobs started anew, and stronger than before.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't on the best terms with his parents, even to the point where he moved out on his own, but he couldn't imagine not wanting them in his life or vice versa. He squeezed her hand softly and she buried her eyes into his chest once again, as if he was the only emotional anchor she had.

 **0-00-0000-00-0-00-000-0-0**

Kitchi Teshima walked into his apartment, and sighed heavily, tossing his bag onto the azure countertop, and undoing his tie aggressively and tossing it to the side. His girlfriend was sitting in a white T-shirt with the word GO! Written on it. She was playing a game on their TV when she tilted her head backwards and gazed at him with her amber eyes twinkling with excitement. "So?! How did it go?"

He walked over to the fuzzy red couch that she was sitting on, and placed a hand on her tanned leg, rubbing it gently. "Oh it went well enough… he was… jovial I guess? Promised to get back to me as soon as he reviewed the other applicants and such." She nodded at him and then asked "Then why do you seem so glum chum?" He laid his head in her lap, slinging his legs over the arm of the couch. He remained silent for a while as she began to play with his teal hair.

She smiled softly and said to him in a loving tone "There you go again, clamming up when you should be talking, you've not changed since the day I met you." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relaxation. "You know, you haven't done a whole lot of changing yourself. Well, besides dropping that whole tsundere 'It's not because I like you or anything' you were doing before we got together." She smacked him on the chest gently and tried her best to not look amused, before cupping his cheek. "But I think I know you well enough to know when you're not telling me the whole truth."

He tensed his muscles, then relaxed them, knowing she had him pegged. "I got an email this morning, before the interview." She perked up for a moment, "My email made you upset?" He shook his head quickly "No! It was very sweet, and thoughtful." The young lady put a finger up to her chin to ponder for a second. "Yasuhiko being a fuckboy again?"

Kitchi snorted at that "Well! Yes but no. He was bragging about the job he has again." She rolled her eyes then said "well then cut the suspense and tell me who messaged you!" The man let out a sigh and uttered one word that would bring the peaceful world he had built for the two of them crashing down.

"Aura."

She stopped all her movements, and for a while an eerie silence fell on the both of them. Her eyes widened and when she finally moved to speak, her words got caught in her throat. Kitchi was the one to eventually break the quiet. "There's… trouble brewing again, and the current protectors of [The World] can't handle it." He bit his lip and clenched his fist sitting up on the couch and slamming his fist on the armrest, causing his girlfriend to jump in surprise.

"Damn it! It's not fair!" He growled in frustration. "I quit because I was done with the fight! I put my life on the line every day during Pluto Again, and I thought it was all over when R1 was finally shut down. But when trouble started brewing in R2, and I was starting my life with you… everyone wanted me to drop everything to become the savior of [The World] again, and I was so scared... "

He got louder clenching in his fists into his lap, and shuddering in anger, guilt, and terror. "Scared of losing everything I worked so hard for… scared of losing you, of the friends I made.. God I'm just a coward, I know the fate of the world, both virtual and real are at risk but I still am terrified…"

His trembling slowed, and she climbed behind him and pressed her chest against his back, resting her hand and head on his shoulder. "You're not a coward Kitchi… you've gone through so much and done so much more for everyone in the world, and no one outside of our group will ever know about it. You were the one who kept fighting when the rest of us had given up. You're a hero, and I understand not wanting to put your life at risk anymore."

"Just know, whatever you decide to do… wherever Kite goes, BlackRose will always follow… even if that means making a return to [The World]" She smiled and turned his face towards hers, cupping his cheek and stroking it gently. "I love you Kitchi. More than anything." Letting her eyes fall shut, she leaned in and pressed his lips against his own.

And just like that, all his anger, and fear melted away. His muscles relaxed against hers and he deepened the kiss, before pulling away. "I love you too Akira." He smiled and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they flashed with a certain resolve. "In that case, I guess we need to go shopping for new hardware huh?" Feeling a sense of pride that she was able to make him feel a little better, she decided to let her mischievous side come out to play.

"We don't have to go right now, do we?" He knew that tone of voice and gulped loudly, understanding what was coming. He knew he had to choose his next words very very carefully. "I mean… we don't HAVE to?" She grinned and said "Smart Man."

 **0-00-00-000-00-0-00**

Another eternity passed before the Harvest Cleric had calmed down enough for them to sit awkwardly with each other, unsure of what to say. Their hands were still intertwined, and a blank look was plastered on her face. She muttered under her breath "I don't know… what to do anymore."

Haseo's heart lurched at her suffering, and he opened his mouth to say something. Even though he knew what he was about to say, when it came out of his mouth, it surprised him as much as it surprised her.

"Hey, why not come live with me in Tokyo?" She perked up at how ridiculous the proposition sounded at first, especially since they haven't really met in real life before. But they were extremely close from their past battles, and she felt that he knew her better than anyone else really did.

"But… I don't want to be a burden or cause you trouble, and I can be… mmphn?!" He silenced her train of thought by covering her mouth with his hand. "Man I don't know how many times I've told you this Atoli, but I'll say it again because apparently you're hard of hearing or something." He grinned at her and said "That stuff you've been telling yourself isn't true. Sure sometimes you're irritating, especially when I feel like you're trying to pick a fight with me." He pulled his hand away from her mouth and then said,

"So if it's okay with you, I mean if you don't have any other options, my place is always available for you."

 **I'm sorry that it took so much longer than normal to put out. About future chapters though, it's going to be tough going without an editor. If anyone has any editing skills, please let me know.**


	4. Chapter 4: Kite

**Thank you everyone for your continued support. It means a lot to me. Continuing on with this fic is going to be emotionally hard for me, but I will be able to continue on, thanks to you guys, I was able to recruit a new editor. Allow me to introduce you to TDLBallistic. From this chapter on, she'll be lending her aid to make this story as great as possible!**

 **TDLBallistic: Thanks! It's a pleasure to be here! A little background about me; I've been a fan of the .hack franchise for about 13 years now. I remember the first time I saw the series, it looked so interesting... so I ended up buying/renting all 3 games! I'm so glad we finally got a remaster. My other favorite series would have to be Kingdom Hearts, but I also enjoy TloU, L4D, FNaF, Spyro, Portal, and very recently Warframe!**

 **Kyyteo: Interesting! Thank you for agreeing to do this by the way. Have you done this before?**

 **TDL: I've been writing since I was little, though I only started to take any of it seriously around 2010 when I created my first roleplay blog on tumblr. It was a great experience, and it's helped me with the blogs I've written for since. I've also helped other fanfiction authors in the past, as well as my friends with their stories or essays for school.**

 **Kyteo: Well I look forward to working with you. In any case, we hope everyone enjoys the newest chapter.**

"Your total is 74,657 yen!" The cashier cheerfully exclaimed, a wide grin stretched across her face. Kitchi felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. He had originally been saving this money to go on a vacation with Akira... however, given the ominous email he had received from Aura, the money instead went towards buying a brand new M2D as well as a few upgrades for his PC to ensure it could run The World: R2 smoothly.

With a resigned sigh, he swiped his debit card to complete the purchase. There was no turning back now. The cashier quickly handed over the bags containing his new equipment, bowing in appreciation as he exited the store and walked towards the car he had received as a gift from his father. It was an older model; a 1990 Toyota Celica All-Trac. Though a little worse for wear, it was an overall reliable vehicle that excelled at its primary function. He was forever grateful for the gift, and to have such supportive parents.

Kitchi climbed into his car, sighing once more as he turned the key in the ignition. Anxious fingers combed through his hair, eyes slowly drawn to the bag which now sat innocently on the passenger's side seat. Somehow, however absurd it might sound... he felt as though it was staring right back at him. A sudden chill ran up his spine, prompting him to shift his car into gear as he pulled out of the parking lot.

As soon as his tires hit the main road, his mind erupted into a stream of disquieting visions... thoughts and ideas of all the numerous ways things could go wrong in the fast approaching future. Thankfully, his brooding was soon interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, instantly recognizing Akira's ringtone. Being the cautious person he was, he enabled hands-free mode before answering so as not to be distracted while driving.

"Hey, I'm just leaving the store now. I got the new hardware." He could practically hear the smile in her voice as she responded, even separated through the phone.

"Did you get me one too?" she teased. He hesitated a moment before replying, quietly. "I could really only afford mine." A chuckle echoed from her end. "I'm just messing with you! I'm gonna buy my own gear after I get off work." Kitchi sighed in relief. Even after knowing her for so long, he wasn't 100% confident in his ability to tell whether or not she was messing with him.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you when you get home tonight. Alright? I'm gonna get everything set up, and create my new character."

On the other side of the phone, Akira sat at her cubicle. She was currently on break from the call center. Smirking to herself, she crossed her legs into a more comfortable position while they spoke. It was just like him to be so impatient. No matter what opinion he asserted to her or himself, he still loved MMO's. "Alright then, but just don't get too far ahead. Okay? We agreed that we would be in this together."

"Mmhmn. Is it okay if we order a pizza for dinner tonight? So we don't have to take any significant breaks?" He asked, his tone hopeful. She sighed, a hand coming up to slowly rub at her temple in mild annoyance. With him, it was either pizza or beef stew as his meal of choice. Not that he was a picky eater, but it seemed to her that lately he wouldn't eat anything else.

" Y'know, you're gonna get fat if you keep eating that kind of food... but, fine. We'll get pizza later. Anyway, I gotta get back to work. I love you, Kitchi. "

"I love you too, Akira." With that, their call ended. Kitchi enjoyed the rest of his drive home in relative silence, wondering what The World would be like after 7 years... and on a darker note, the new impending threat Aura had forewarned. An unimaginable power, which not only held the potential to put an end to countless virtual worlds... but the real world as well. He shuddered at the thought, finally pulling into the complexes shared parking lot.

Upon entering his home, he went straight for his computer room and began the careful process of taking apart his PC to install the new parts. It was a bit of a struggle at first, as he had to figure which piece went where, or which wire attached to which part, but he eventually got the hang of it. Once he was satisfied that he had everything put back the way it was supposed to be, he eagerly powered on his computer. He sat down in his chair with the manual for the new game in his hands, opening it to read.

He thumbed through it, as the computer installed the necessary drivers for his new devices, reading up on the game's remastered lore and races before he finally got to section which listed the various classes available to play. A confident smirk spread across his face when he saw that Twin Blades were still in the game. He knew exactly what class he was going to choose once he got in.

As if on cue, the ALTIMIT OS program finished its installations and was ready to be used. He noticed two new icons on his desktop. One said The World, of course, and the other one was something he had heard about from friends. It was a new virtual card game called Crimson VS. He made a mental note to himself to check it out later, when he had time.

He dragged his cursor over The World icon, hesitating.

No. He wouldn't let his fear and doubts get to him, not now. Not when Aura needed him; not when The World needed him. Shaking off what remained of his nervous energy, he double-clicked the icon, and with it the program immediately launched into a simple registration page.

The young man stared blankly at the screen, contemplating what he was going to use as his online alias. It didn't take very long for him to decide, of course. There was really only one name it could be; the one name that fit, even after all this time. He typed his choice into the required field, a soft grin gently turning the corners of his lips.

Username: Kite

Password: ********

And with that, his registration was complete. His M2D went dark for a brief moment as it loaded the games millions of assets- finally displaying a start-up page with a sword and the remains of a ruined city in the background behind it. Something deep in his stomach churned with anticipation.

It was reminiscent of the login screen used for The World R:1, but while the older style could be described as more fantastical, or rustic, with its burned scroll and runes… this newer style obviously found its roots in the steampunk subculture. He smiled when he saw there was a community forum that the devs supported, alongside an official site for the game that he assumed would contain a plethora of useful information.

Though he doubted too much of the lore or core mechanics had changed between the two games, he decided it might be best to do a little reading. He opened the official site, perusing the various the patch notes and interesting tidbits of information... slowly returning returning to his old habits.

After catching himself up on all major changes, patches, lore, what each class specialized in, and whatever else had managed to catch his interest- he felt confident in his knowledge of game's inner workings. More or less. He wouldn't put off the inevitable any longer… it was time to finally log into the game.

He expected to be redirected to a character creation screen, but after a few moments of waiting without any apparent response from the game… he began to realize something was off.

A completely white, featureless void met his vision.

With growing unease, he thought that his brand-new M2D had suddenly malfunctioned and died on him only after a few minutes of use. He was getting ready to yank the thing off his head until he noticed something… odd. His eyes widened- gaze drawn to an enormous, glowing red triangle in the middle of the room; a huge chunk of textureless earth floating eerily in the center. Sitting atop the slab was what appeared to be an antique rocking chair, and a great number of books.

The more he looked around the room, the less inclined he was to believe that this part of the typical first-time user experience. Just as he began to move, he heard something; a hauntingly familiar sound, which shook him to very depths of his being. The delicate chime was unmistakable. A cold sweat broke out across his body; an involuntary shiver travelling along his spine. That noise…

It was an A in C major.

Muscles tense and on high-alert, Kitchi began thoroughly scanning the area for anything he hadn't noticed originally. A full minute passed without any change, until something new seemed to materialize from the very emptiness of the room itself. It's appearance was that of a small ball of blue fire, and it made a swift b-line towards him- gradually growing in size and intensity. It was a vivid, spiraling torrent of Azure flame. Kitchi was forced to shield his eyes, the light too intense at this distance to continue staring.

As the blue light behind his eyelids gradually faded, he slowly pulled his arms away and blinked back the remaining white spots in his vision… only to be met with a sight that left his mouth comically agape..

It was the avatar of a twin-blade; their outfit a strange mixture of burnt orange and yellows, criss-crossed with stitches. They sported spiky teal hair with messy bangs, most being trapped beneath a similarly stitched and colored cap as their main attire. Their cheeks were marked by red, triangular-shaped wave symbols. Even with these minor differences- such as the model's overall patched-together appearance and intimidating pale blue eyes… there was no mistaking the familiarity.

This was his old character: Kite.

The twin-blade exhaled a long, breathy groan as he shifted his piercing gaze up and down Kitchi's currently transparent body. He made no move to come nearer, merely watching. "What... is this?" the user asked, though not expecting any real response his strange guest. He took a cautious step toward his old character model, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice... as soft as it was kind.

"An empty shell. An imperfect recreation of my greatest champion, and my dearest friend." A young woman gradually came into being behind the Azure Knight. She was clothed in a white gown, a shawl of the same color draped around her shoulders and clasped together with an infinity symbol.

"Aura..." Kitchi breathed, in awe. Even after receiving the email that led to his return to virtual space, he still couldn't believe that she was here right now.

The A.I. smiled delicately, delighted to be reunited with her old companion. "Hello, Kitchi… I was beginning to fear you would never come... I'm so glad you're here." She floated closer to him, reaching out and gently taking his incorporeal hand within her own… and odd as it seemed, Kitchi could actually feel the sensation of their flesh against his real hand. "I'm so sorry, Kitchi… I feel awful, calling you here. I know you've settled down, moved on from The World… but I would not have called for you back for over something trivial."

He squeezed her hand in return, a reassuring smile appearing on his ghostly visage. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. It took me forever to get here. I had to buy brand new hardware and make sure everything worked, but… it's honestly so great to see you again." Slowly, Aura released his hand- moving back a few feet. Her expression was dire. "You must make contact with the children of Morgana. The 8 Phases will become your allies." Closing her eyes, she recited the verses of an old poem. The words felt vaguely familiar to to him.

"... _Riding the wake is Skeith, the Shadow of Death to drown all that stands. Mirage of Deceit, Innis- Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave… and by the Power of Magus, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens- and creates a new Wave. With the Wave, Fidchell, the power to tell the dark future… hope darkens. Sadness and despair rule. Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave. Macha seduces with the sweet trap. Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy… and with the turbulent destruction after the Wave, only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Corbenik._ "

Taking a moment to pause, her face softened- the words she spoke next were new.

" ... _the curse has been undone. The once cursed Wave now stand together, unified. Riding the wave is Skeith, The Terror of Death… to defend all who are worthy. Mirage of Deceit, Innis... learning to accept her true nature, protecting all she holds dear. And by the power of Magus, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens… to breathe new life into being. With the Wave, Fidchell… the power to predict a hopeful future- instilling faith, courage, and valor into his listeners. Gorre plans as one, swaddled in warmth and acceptance by the Wave. Macha wraps her arms about her treasured friends, and captures her foes in the wake of her claws. Tarvos fights to uphold honor and justice... to punish the wicked, and shield the innocent. Though lost, the last of the Wave shall be restored... Corbenik rejoins the Wave, bringing an end to the nightmares that befoul our dreams._ "

… as suddenly she arrived, Aura's ethereal form began to slowly fade away. "The three Azure Knights, who have fought valiantly in defense of their home for so many years… they will unite to aid the user who awoke the Ultimate Being. Together, with the combined might of the 8 Phases… no threat can hope to prevail. Now the time has come for you to reclaim your power, Kitchi. To take your rightful place among these brave warriors. Become once more, Kite of the Azure Flame."

As the last remaining signs of Aura's presence faded into white mist, her words still ringing within his mind, Kitchi's old avatar reached out an arm to his counterpart; an invitation to finally take the reigns of power that slept dormant inside the program's code.

It was a lot of information to take in all at once, but he tried to commit her words to memory, as Aura's words were never meaningless, and once he was ready, he looked the twin blade in the eyes, and said "Well.. once more unto the breach huh?" He extended his hand towards the AI based on him, and a soft glow enveloped the two.

Slowly, starting with his fingers, the twin blade's body began to flake away into bits of light, traveling towards Kitchi and reassembling itself around his respective body part. Kitchi watched with wide eyes as he started to become corporeal, and the areas that were stitched together on what aura called an empty shell, were made whole around him.

Upon reaching the AI's head, it let out a soft groan again, and although it was difficult to see before he completely faded away, the now whole Kite could have sworn that it was smiling in content. The newly reformed twinblade looked down at his body, turning his arms over and rotating his legs slightly, before curling his fingers into a fist.

"I'm back." His eyes flashed with a determination as he felt a sense of confidence flow through him, as if he had found a part of him that he had been missing. Around his right arm, though only visible for a brief moment, the bracelet aura had given him when he first used the Book of the Twilight glowed softly as if it was happy to be reunited with its former master.

 **0-0-00-0-0-0-000-0**

The entire apartment smelled of bleach. The sound of bristles scraping against the floor, getting every nook and cranny, echoed throughout the space that Ryou had called his home. He had kept his house pretty clean consistently, but with the thought of a girl named Chigusa coming to live with him from now on…

Ryou redoubled his efforts, wanting everything to be perfect for her. He was surprised when Atoli had agreed to his instinctual blurb, and even more so when she willingly gave him all of her personal info without a second thought. The whole people placing their trust in him thing was still really new to the young man, but he can't say it didn't feel good.

Satisfied that everything was about as clean as he could get it, he wiped the sweat off his brow and pulled the mask that was covering his nose and face down past his chin.

To him, it looked like a vast improvement, when in reality it was now only lemon scented from the bleach. "Right well… I guess I should shower and get ready now…" He said to no one in particular.

Grabbing his cleaning supplies, he walked out of the spare bedroom that would become Chigusa's room, to the kitchen and dumped the water down the drain. Cleaning wasn't the only thing he did to prepare for her arrival. This whole thing had been financially taxing, and it made him do something he really didn't want to do.

 **A few days prior**

" _You want to borrow some money?" his father asked over the phone with a tone of surprise. It was extremely unusual for his son to ask for any sort of help, which made him worry he got mixed up in something sketchy or he got arrested._

" _Yeah… I have a friend who is going to come live with me for a while… and I kinda need to buy new furniture and stuff…" Ryou glanced to the side as if he was avoiding his father's gaze through the speaker._

 _Mr. Misaki only smiled though, feeling silly to have doubted his son. "A friend? You've not mentioned anything like that before Ryou."_

 _The teen was starting to get slightly annoyed though, as this request damaged his pride enough as it was. "Look, can you help me out or not old man?" to which the middle aged man chuckled and waved his hand absentmindedly._

" _Of course of course. I was just surprised. As your father it would be an honor to help you and any friend of yours." He pulled up his banking app and started a transfer transaction, to his son's account. "How does 1,000,000 yen sound?" he asked, not even waiting for a reply before completing the transaction._

 _Ryou nearly fell out of the chair he was sitting in at the time. "A MILLION?! You've got to be kidding me? I don't want that much!"_

" _Oh?" His dad said coyly. "You should have been more specific with the amount then? Anyway it's already transferred." Ryou grit his teeth angrily. "Anyway this friend of yours…" He started again. "For you have to taken them in, they must be really close to you. You should introduce me sometime?"_

 _Ryou sighed and said "Yeah sure dad…" He struggled really hard to get the next bit out. "T-thank you for loaning me this money, I'll pay it back as soon as I can." That took his father aback even more than he already was. There was a moment of silence before he flashed a genuine smile._

 _That was the first time in a long long time, that Ryou had ever called him dad, and even longer since he had thanked him. "My son, you never have to pay me back. I'm so glad to help you out whenever you need me to." And with that he hung up._

 _Ryou, clenched his fist harder and shouted at the phone, even though he knew that his dad had already hung up, "Don't think that this means I've forgiven you! I haven't forgiven you for what you did to mom!" Tears started to well up in his eyes as he remembered times when they were a family… when she was still alive… before he divorced her and she took her own life out of grief._

 _He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and checked his bank account. Sure enough, there was 1,000,000 more in there than the last time he had looked._

It had been a few days since then, and Ryou had been on a shopping spree. The once empty room now had a queen size bed against the wall in the upper right corner. It sat naked, as he was sure she would want to choose her own sheets and stuff.

Directly across from the bed was a full length mirror, with a white wooden frame. Upon closer inspection, you could see that the mirror doubled as a jewelry case, as there was a hinge.

A few feet from that there was the door to a small closet space, and then a mahogany desk, nearly identical to his, a foot after that.

He hadn't quite used even 200,000 yen much less the full million, but he would take her shopping afterwards, as he still wasn't sure what she would be able to take with her.

After a quick shower, and a change of clothes, he faced the door, ready to embark on the journey that would change his life in more ways than he could know. He reviewed one more time in his head which train he would be taking to get to Chiba, and set out.

 **Kyyteo: That took me quite a bit to finish writing, but damn does it feel good to get it done!**

 **TDLBallistic: If you weren't a complete procrastinating Dingus, you'd have got it done a lot sooner. I guess I know where I should be cracking down on you.**

 **Kyyteo: *laughs nervously* a-anyway. Thank you everyone for bearing with me while I finished this chapter up. I hope that the ones in the future will come out in a more timely manner (for my sake) and that you all enjoyed it. Until next time, fare thee well.**


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